FEATURED INTERVIEWS

Born From Pain

The sons of a dying world, surviving with their conscious state of mind.
By: Gian Erguiza - - December 22nd, 2008 - 11:32 am PST

The boys in Born From Pain are pissed and ready for war. Their latest offering, 'Survival,' is a blistering metal assualt on the masses. Born From Pain delivers their musical message with a conscious effort but makes sure that its delivered sharp, fast and bent out of shape. Vocalist Rob Franssen and guitarist Karl Fieldhouse took some time out of their busy schedule to answer some questions and explain why the people should have the power, instead of the leaders of the world.

Hey Rob! Can you give me a brief background on the band and what you guys are currently up to at this moment?

Karl: A brief background of the band is that Born From Pain was formed back in 1997 by Rob and original singer Che. The band has released 5 albums to date, the latest being Survival which came out a couple of weeks ago. The band has toured all over the world, including every country in Europe, the States, Japan, Russia and Brazil. We’ve toured with the likes of Hatebreed, Madball, Terror, Six Feet Under and Napalm Death and played some of Europe’s biggest Summer festivals such as Wacken, With Full Force, Hellfest and countless others as well as doing successful headline tours etc. Right now the current line up is Rob Franssen on vocals, Dominik Stammen on guitar, Roy Moonen on drums, Andries Beckers on bass and I’m Karl Fieldhouse and play guitar. Things are going well with the new album and in 2 weeks we start the 2008 Persistence Tour along with Sick of It All, Heaven Shall burn, Terror and more. It’s gonna be a great tour and will really kick off our support for Survival.

Awesome but first off, you guys sound extra pissed off on 'Survival.' Is there a reason why you guys are so damned pissed off or are you guys normally this pissed off all the time?

Rob: Haha, well, not all the time but I think there is a good reason to be pissed off! Taking a look at the world we live in there are more than enough reasons to be pissed off about: famine, war, economic crisis, etc. It is all unhappy stuff and a lot of people suffer from it on a global scale. The people in power seem to be getting bailed for all their efforts to bankrupt countries and steering the world straight into hell. Their media channels obviously try to tell us it is all our own fault and it will all be better soon. Well, try telling that my neighbor who got laid off because his company had to cut on investments, etc. We are the ones picking up the pieces of their bullshit lust for power. They control politicians, whole countries and do whatever they can get away with…I’d say there is a reason to be pissed off!

Totally agree! With all of the hard charging riffs, fiery lyrics and brutal grooves, I really dug 'Survival.' How did you guys approach the songwriting for this album?

Karl: The songwriting for Survival was much the same as it has been for any other Born From Pain album in many ways. Dominik and I would bring what riff ideas we had to a practice and we’d work on them to see if they could be used. Once we got through all the ideas, we’d start working on things from scratch and just writing spontaneously altogether in the practice room, just kind of jamming on an idea and all trying to put our ideas together and seeing what would happen. For some reason this seems to be a very effective song writing method for us. It can get a little frustrating at times if you’re in the practice room and nothing is "happening" for you, but when it does and there is a spark of inspiration, ideas for a song usually comes together very quickly. This is pretty much how its been for the past 2 or 3 albums, although the song writing was a little different for Survival in some ways because we had a very conscious stream of thought of where we wanted to go with the song writing. I mean, we’ve never been a band that writes technical music or had complicated song structures, but we still felt that we could make a song more of a song and really strip it down to the necessities of what we wanted to do with a song and what would make a song really stick out and serve a purpose and in that respect, we really changed a lot to a certain degree. As far as lyrics go, Rob has always written the lyrics in the band and he has a very vivid idea of what he wants to do and how the lyrical theme and format applies to Born From Pain.

So Rob, how serious did you take yourself while writing the lyrics for 'Survival' and did the lyrics come easy for you?

"The next logical step is to tour, tour, tour and keep being outspoken, keep informing people of the real truths we have to deal with in the world, that have been told to us as lies and to encourage people to educate themselves and research these lies, to encourage people to look for the real truths and to get active in making the world a better place."

Rob: I am not sure what you are trying to say with "did I take myself serious" but obviously I do take myself serious. Maybe to some people the situation the world is in seems like a joke, but it sure isn’t to me. See, when I write about survival, I do not (just) mean literally having to fight for your life, gun in hand or whatever anyone would think...I (also) talk about different levels of survival where people are confronted with not being able to pay bills anymore, put warm food on the table every day, send their children to school, etc. This is, unfortunately , reality.... More and more people in our "rich" Western world are confronted with these levels of survival. It is a fact that the level of poverty in the Western world is the highest since the 50’s. This IS about survival and it is getting worse... When I write lines like "This is a call for warfare" I mean getting active, resisting the powers that be, the people that put us in this situation. Raising awareness about what is happening to us and what these people are doing behind closed doors. Things we do not hear in the news, things that are anti-human. All of that is VERY serious to me!

Got it! What's the most significant difference between playing a hometown show as oppose to playing out of town, country or state?

Karl: I think the most significant difference of playing a hometown show is that the hometown crowd really wants to hear the older songs from the first MCD and first album, which I think is mainly due to the fact that those particular songs are very personal to them and how they saw the band rise from being a local band to becoming an International band. I think it makes it more personal for them and that’s great. We don’t play our hometown area too much, but we always play a release show for the new album in our hometown and always at one of the small venues we started out at. It’s great to keep doing that and people appreciate it and so we always bust out a couple of songs we might not usually play because of that. I think when we play out of town it’s slightly different, but people still like the old shit, but some how it’s different. I don’t think it’s something that you can really put your finger on in a very tangible way. Whatever it is, it’s always fun.

Which song off 'Survival' do you guys enjoy the most or has a special message for the people?

Karl: Well, all of the songs have a message and a definite lyrical tone that is meant to communicate something to people, so in that respect all the songs are equally important and all hold special relevance and have something to say. Purely on a musical level though, some songs are enjoyable to play for different reasons and I’m sure everyone will have a different song they enjoy playing most in the band, but for me, I think it has to be The Hydra. I love playing that song because it’s a song you really get into onstage and bang your head to. It’s got groove, but it’s hard as nails too. It’s got some nice tempo changes here and there and its just a killer song. I love it.

Speaking of the people, do you guys think that if the powers of the world were given back to the people, would they abuse it or do a better job than the current leaders of the world?

Rob: The people would most certainly do a better job at it. Obviously there are enough assholes among the people too and all can and would probably not be perfect, but the powers that try to control this planet now are a long line of power elite where power and wealth is not earned by respect or skill but by heritage. Raised with an elite idea in mind and a twisted disregard for anything not up their alley. I think the majority of the people would be smart enough to know how to run this world and how to make it a whole lot more honest.

Great point. Tell me Rob or Karl, why should I fork up $1 per song or $10 for the album instead of hijacki ng it online and getting it for free?

Karl: Hmmm, it’s a hard question to answer in some ways. I mean, there are the obvious reasons that if you like what we do, then it’s better to support the band and pay for something that is created by us and that you help to stop destroying a dwindling music scene in terms of CD sales, which if it continues at the rate it is at the moment then, at some point, its not going to be worth a band recording their music anymore because costs can never be recouped. On the other hand though, it’s up to record labels to come up with ways to make things cheaper and less expensive for people to actually buy CDs. I mean, I understand why people download shit, buying a CD is expensive. I remember the days when things were a little cheaper and I’d buy CDs based on reviews or that a friend said "check it out, it sounds like this band or that band," but I don’t do that much these days. It’s a different generation these days though, everything is so easily accessible and I think people have lost sight of how cool and important it is to actually have the physical copy of something rather than having it as an mp3. I mean, I still love having an album, looking through the booklet, reading lyrics, reading thanks lists etc, but maybe that’s because that’s how I grew up with music. These days it’s different. At the end of the day, if you’re a fan of a band, why would you want to fuck them over, because that’s what’s happening. The record label suffers, but the band probably suffers more because of it. I mean, none of us are millionaires from doing this shit.

You hear that kids? Fork that shit up, it's way worth it! Alright, aside from your brutally awesome album, who do you guys feel should get the acknowledgment of 'Album Of The Year?'

Karl: Hahaha, why thank you. For me it falls to one of three bands. First of all, being a huge Metallica fan, I would have to say Death Magnetic as it is such a great return to form after the abysmal excuse of an album that was St. Anger, and that’s not easy for me to say as I love Metallica. Believe it or not, I think Load and Reload have their merits; you just have to open your mind and not think about old Metallica ha. But the funny thing is, the first couple of times I heard Death Magnetic, I wasn’t sure, I was like, yeah, maybe it’s a 6.5, it didn’t rally strike me as anything special and I kinda felt a little letdown, but the more I listened to it, the more I heard the huge hooks that are on that album, the more I found something new with every song that connected me to Metallica and soon I thought it was an easy 10. I think it’s a great album and catchy as fuck, with a lot of old Metallica sounds that probably take a little while to pick up on. The other albums that I think are killer are the new Kaiser Chiefs album, I think that band is amazing and they write consistently great hook filled records. After that, I’d say the new Slipknot, which blew me away. I mean, I’ve always liked Slipknot albums, but they never really blew me away, it’d be more like, there is 6 or 7 songs out of 12 that I really dig, but All Hope Is Gone is just crushing from start to finish, an amazing record. The new Terror is also brutal too. I think I could keep going quite happily haha.

I hear you on 'Death Magnetic.' That album is my pick for album of the year. It took me back to the glory days of Metallica. Good to know you've got great taste in music! If you guys were granted to change one thing in this world and it could be anything in this world, what would you guys change?

Rob: I would erase this crazy, insane power elite from the face of their earth along with their little secretive, inbred, one-hand-washes-the-other mentality secret societies, they all conspire in. The world would be falling into the hands of people that would always do a better job.

Rob for President! Now I was reading around your myspace and saw that you guys were helping in humanitarian reliefs with Doctors Without Borders. How did you guys get involved with this project and what prompted the need for you guys to help?

Karl: To me it’s quite simple, I think it’s important to do something and be active in trying to improve the world, because the state of the world is pretty fucked at the moment and its no good reacting to something because by then it might be too late, so we’re choosing to be active and to start using our own initiative to bring things to people’s attention, to try and affect change in the world in a positive way. It’s important to have a voice and speak out and that’s what we’re doing. Doctors Without Borders is a very worthy cause because they are one of the few non-governmental organizations that aren’t controlled by politics, religion or economic powers and large corporations and are strictly non profit and really do things other organizations aren’t willing to do. They go into war torn regions or developing countries and provide much needed healthcare or medical training all over the world. We plan to bring a different organization to the forefront every month or every 2 months and we support it by donating money or by giving our time, because you have to do something to get somewhere. We try and support all kinds of different initiatives, whether it is something International like Doctors Without Borders or Amnesty International or whether it is supporting a local soup kitchen by donating food of our time to help out. Doing something is better than doing nothing and so we’re trying to make people aware that they can get active too. Besides that it is important to signal that solidarity is important amongst the people. You would want it too if you’d be on the receiving end of misery.

And Karl for Vice President! I hear you guys loud and clear on that one, I myself feed the homeless whenever I get the chance down here in the Los Angeles Mission or Glendale homeless Center. More and more metal bands are coming out with the belief and the message of Christianity ingrained in the music. What are your thoughts on this subject?

Rob: I am not a big fan of that whole concept to be quite honest. I mean I know people that believe in a God and they seem to be drawing a lot of strength from that. If they really need that, that is ok with me, who am I to say not to do that? However, these are people that believe in a God and are not religious freaks or part of an insane power structure like the Catholic Church. In the latter case we are talking about rounding people up and treating them like sheep in the name of an institute that has been in the leading ranks of power abuse for ages. I always drew enough strength believing in myself, but if you do need a God for strength, think twice about the institutes that are associated with it.

If I was to spread the word about Born From Pain in five words or less, what would I tell them?

Rob: The sound of survival

Is there anything wrong with the world of metal today and if so, what do you guys propose on doing to fix it?

Karl: Hmmm, I think the world of metal is very strong today, probably the strongest I’ve ever seen it. I’m not sure if there is anything really specific I would fix about it. I don’t think there is the segregation there might have been in the past between different sub genres or even between different genres of hard music like hardcore and metal. There are so many positive things about metal and hard music in general these days that I’m struggling to come up with something I dislike about it.

What's the next logical step for Born From Pain?

Karl: The next logical step is to tour, tour, tour and keep being outspoken, keep informing people of the real truths we have to deal with in the world, that have been told to us as lies and to encourage people to educate themselves and research these lies, to encourage people to look for the real truths and to get active in making the world a better place.

Amen. Any last comments, shout-outs or plug before we adjourn?

Karl: Thanks a lot for the interview, it’s much appreciated, check out the new album Survival and remember to always Look For Truth. Survivalstateofmind.blogspot.com

Gentlemen, you guys were nothign but great and I wish you guys the best of luck for 2009.........keep melting faces out there!

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